Bodies of another five Iranian Mina victims identified

SHAFAQNA – Head of Iran Hajj and Pilgrims Organization, Saeed Ohadi, said bodies of another five Iranian pilgrims who lost their lives during the Mina tragedy have been identified.

He said the bodies were identified by the Iranian medical teams in cooperation with Saudi officials through fingerprinting and DNA tests.

He said the teams are still working to identify the bodies of 28 missing Iranian Hajj pilgrims.

The Hajj tragedy occured after two large masses of pilgrims converged at a crossroads in Mina, near the holy city of Mecca during the symbolic ceremony of the Stoning of Satan in Jamarat.

Saudi Arabia claims nearly 770 people were killed in the fatal incident, but according to officials at Iran’s Hajj and Pilgrimage Organization about 4,700 people, including 464 Iranian pilgrims, lost their lives in the trageic event.

However, foreign officials put the death toll at 1,674.

The bodies of 399 Iranian victims have been repatriated so far.

Foreign Minister, Mohammad-Javad Zarif, in reply to some lawyers’ call for assisting government to vindicate the rights of Mina tragedy victims said their expertise is definitely needed for the purpose.